White Oak
White Oak is a dense, ring-porous hardwood supplied green, kiln-dried to 12 % (KD12) or 7 % (KD7) moisture content, and as thermally modified stock (TMT).
Reference datasheet — White Oak is not in the instant-quote catalog. Upload your part and an engineer will quote it in this grade or suggest the closest stocked equivalent.
Values for the KD12 condition
White Oak tempers and conditions
White Oak is supplied in 4 conditions, soft to hard. KD12 is the default FabDigit quotes; the values on this page are for it.
Compare all 4 conditionsHide
| Condition · open for datasheet | Best for | Yield MPa | Tensile MPa | Elong. % | Hardness | Conductivity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Freshly sawn, MC above fibre saturation | Pick for steam bending, wet cooperage stock, or timber-frame work that will season in place. | 60 | 2 | 0.31 W/m·K | ||
Thermally modified | Pick for exterior cladding, decking and wet-service parts where dimensional stability and decay resistance beat raw strength. | 70 | 0.7 | 0.14 W/m·K | ||
KD12Default KD 12 % MC | Default engineering condition — all handbook strength values are quoted here; use for flooring, joinery and exterior millwork. | 100 | 1.2 | 0.17 W/m·K | ||
KD 6–8 % MC | Pick for heated interiors, veneered panels and cabinetwork where dimensional stability matters most. | 108 | 1 | 0.15 W/m·K |
What is White Oak?
White Oak is a dense, ring-porous hardwood supplied green, kiln-dried to 12 % (KD12) or 7 % (KD7) moisture content, and as thermally modified stock (TMT). Its 0.76 g/cm³ density, 100 MPa tensile strength, 1.2 % elongation, 12.3 GPa modulus and tyloses-blocked pores give load-bearing strength, rot resistance (durability score 58) and liquid-tightness for furniture, flooring and cooperage. Silica and tannin dull tooling (machinability score 65), tannin reacts with iron to leave black stains, dimensional movement with humidity is significant, and service is limited to about 90 °C. European oak or ash is the usual alternative where liquid-tightness is not required. White Oak has a density of 0.76 g/cm³ (0.0275 lb/in³), heavier than 68% of natural material grades. White Oak has a tensile strength of 100 MPa (14.5 ksi), stronger than 85% of natural material grades. Elongation at break is 1.2% and the elastic modulus is 12.3 GPa (1.78 Msi).
What is White Oak used for?
- furniture
- flooring
- cabinetry
- wine/whiskey barrels
- boat building
Advantages
- Conducts heat well — 0.17 W/m·K (0.0982 BTU/hr·ft·°F), better than 76% of natural material grades
Limitations
- Difficult to machine — 65/100, worse than 81% of natural material grades
White Oak properties
Typical room-temperature values for White Oak-KD12; bars are the position among natural material grades.
Physical2
White Oak has a density of 0.76 g/cm³ (0.0275 lb/in³), heavier than 68% of natural material grades.
Mechanical10
White Oak has a tensile strength of 100 MPa (14.5 ksi), stronger than 85% of natural material grades. Elongation at break is 1.2% and the elastic modulus is 12.3 GPa (1.78 Msi).
Thermal5
White Oak is rated for continuous service to 90°C (194 °F). It conducts heat at 0.17 W/m·K (0.0982 BTU/hr·ft·°F), better than 76% of natural material grades. Thermal expansion is 4 µm/m·K (2.22 µin/in·°F).
Electrical2
White Oak is an electrical insulator with a dielectric strength of 5 kV/mm (127 V/mil) and a resistivity of 1×10¹⁰ Ω·m.
Chemical & Environmental1
Corrosion resistance is good (58/100), better than 74% of natural material grades.
Sustainability4
Producing a kilogram of White Oak takes about 11 MJ of energy and emits 0.45 kg of CO₂ — more than 56% of natural material grades. Typical recycled content is 5%.
Manufacturability2
White Oak's machinability is good (65/100, worse than 81% of natural material grades).
Common Calculations4
Values are nominal handbook figures for design screening. Certified mill or lot data ships with every FabDigit order on request.
Working with White Oak
Is White Oak easy to machine?
Cuts and turns well with carbide tooling at moderate feed, but silica/tannin content dulls HSS quickly and ring-porous grain tears out — use sharp 20–25° rake knives and back-up on cross-cuts.
Can White Oak be welded?
Not weldable; joined by PVA/PUR/epoxy adhesive or mechanical joinery — bond within hours of surfacing since tannin-rich, oily faces reduce glue wetting.
Can White Oak be formed, bent or molded?
Excellent steam-bending timber (green or freshly steamed at ~100 °C, 1 h per 25 mm); air-dry only after clamping to a form, and allow ~10 % tangential / 5 % radial shrinkage green-to-oven-dry.
White Oak chemical composition (wt %)
Limits by weight percent from the governing specification, written the way the spec states them — a single maximum for impurities, a range for alloying elements, and the base element as balance. Nominal is the typical mid-range value.
| Element | Spec limit (wt %) | Nominal |
|---|---|---|
| celluloseoven-dry basis | 42 – 47 | 45 |
| hemicellulosepentosan-rich in hardwood | 19 – 26 | 22 |
| ligninsyringyl/guaiacyl hardwood lignin | 21 – 27 | 24 |
| extractives (tannins, ellagitannins)source of iron staining and cooperage flavour | 3 – 10 | 6 |
| ashmainly Ca, K | 0.2 – 0.8 | 0.4 |
| moisturedefault condition = 12 % MC; not part of oven-dry balance | balance |
What surface finishes work on White Oak?
Sands to 180–220 grit and takes stain, oil and film finishes well; fill the open earlywood pores for gloss, and use stainless or hot-dip galvanized fasteners since iron reacts with tannin to leave black stains.
Equivalent designations
Standards and trade names that resolve to White Oak in FabDigit's catalog. Equivalence is nominal — check the exact specification when certification matters.
- Also called
- Quercus alba
How much does White Oak cost?
White Oak is a standard-cost natural material ($$), cheaper than about 71% of the materials FabDigit quotes. Part price depends far more on geometry, tolerance and quantity than on the raw stock — upload a CAD file for a live quote.
White Oak — frequently asked
What is White Oak used for?
White Oak is typically used for furniture, flooring, cabinetry, wine/whiskey barrels and boat building. In short: rot-resistant structural hardwood; best steam-bending hardwood; liquid-tight cooperage timber.
What is the tensile strength of White Oak?
White Oak has a typical tensile strength of 100 MPa (14.5 ksi) — stronger than 85% of natural material grades. Strength varies by condition: see the 4 listed tempers.
Is White Oak easy to machine?
Reasonably — machinability is rated good (65/100, worse than 81% of natural material grades). Cuts and turns well with carbide tooling at moderate feed, but silica/tannin content dulls HSS quickly and ring-porous grain tears out — use sharp 20–25° rake knives and back-up on cross-cuts.
Can White Oak be welded?
Not weldable; joined by PVA/PUR/epoxy adhesive or mechanical joinery — bond within hours of surfacing since tannin-rich, oily faces reduce glue wetting.
What surface finishes work on White Oak?
Sands to 180–220 grit and takes stain, oil and film finishes well; fill the open earlywood pores for gloss, and use stainless or hot-dip galvanized fasteners since iron reacts with tannin to leave black stains.
Can White Oak be formed, bent or molded?
Excellent steam-bending timber (green or freshly steamed at ~100 °C, 1 h per 25 mm); air-dry only after clamping to a form, and allow ~10 % tangential / 5 % radial shrinkage green-to-oven-dry.
What is the maximum service temperature of White Oak?
White Oak is rated for continuous use to about 90°C (194 °F). Strength falls off well before that limit — check the elevated-temperature data for load-bearing parts.
How much does White Oak cost?
White Oak is a standard-cost natural material ($$), cheaper than about 71% of the materials FabDigit quotes. Part price depends far more on geometry, tolerance and quantity than on the raw stock — upload a CAD file for a live quote.
Sources
- Wood Handbook — Wood as an Engineering Material, FPL-GTR-282 — USDA Forest Products Laboratory (2021)
- ASTM D143 — Standard Test Methods for Small Clear Specimens of Timber — ASTM International (2022)
- ASTM D2555 — Establishing Clear Wood Strength Values — ASTM International (2017)
- Ansys Granta EduPack / CES natural materials records — oak — Ansys Granta (2023)
- AHEC American Hardwood Species Guide — American White Oak — American Hardwood Export Council (2022)
Property data is compiled from published supplier and standards handbooks and normalised for comparison; hardness values on non-Brinell scales are converted approximately for charting only. Manufacturability limits are FabDigit quote-engine defaults and may be relaxed by engineering review. Nothing on this page is a certification — request mill certs, CoC or material test reports with your order.